The US administration supports the efforts of UN Secretary General António Guterres aimed at ensuring the flow of Ukrainian and Russian grain to world markets. This statement was made on Wednesday at a regular briefing by the head of the press service of the State Department, Ned Price.
He noted that “the Black Sea Grain Initiative is a vital mechanism” in ensuring global food security. “The United States strongly supports the efforts of UN Secretary General Guterres in partnership with Turkey to bring Ukrainian and Russian grain to world markets,” Price added.
The representative of the American foreign policy department stressed that the US calls for “an extension and expansion of the initiative.”
Agreements on the export of food from Ukraine were concluded on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul for 120 days. One of the agreements regulates the procedure for the export of grain from the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny controlled by Kyiv. Created by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul is designed to inspect ships with grain in order to prevent smuggling of weapons and exclude provocations. In addition, a memorandum was signed between the Russian Federation and the UN, which implies the obligations of the world organization to remove various restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets. In November, the grain deal was extended for another 120 days.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly pointed to the non-fulfillment of certain points of the deal, including the agreement that grain should mainly go to the poorest countries. They also drew attention to the fact that obstacles are being created for the supply of Russian fertilizers and food to the world market.
Full version on the website The United States announced support for the supply of Ukrainian and Russian grain to world markets
